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Head-to-head · Static Site Generators

Eleventy vs Astro Starlight

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 4 checks side by side
Higher score Eleventy #6 in Static Site Generators 8.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 4 features Visit Eleventy
Astro Starlight #8 in Static Site Generators 8.5/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 4 features Try Astro Starlight

Eleventy leads on 0 checks, Astro Starlight on 0, and 4 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 4 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreEleventy · 8.7/10
  • Free planboth
  • Most featuresEleventy · 3 of 4

Eleventy scores higher on our rubric for static site generators: 8.7 against 8.5 out of 10; our editors rank them #6 and #8.

Eleventy is the better fit for simple flexible static sites. Astro Starlight is the better fit for documentation teams.

  • Eleventy fits best

    Simple flexible static sites

  • Astro Starlight fits best

    Documentation teams

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Side by side

Feature Eleventy 8.7/10 Visit ↗ Astro Starlight 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.7 8.5
Ranking #6 in Static Site Generators #8 in Static Site Generators
Best for Simple flexible static sites Documentation teams
Pricing model Free Free
Starting price Free plan Free plan
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Self-hosted Self-hosted
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux Web
Support Community, Docs Community, Docs
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Eleventy 3/4 · Astro Starlight 0/4
CMS integration ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Incremental builds Not checked yet Not checked yet
Multilingual support ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Local preview server ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Specs
Content sources Markdown Not checked yet
Supported languages HTML, Markdown, WebC, JavaScript, Liquid, Nunjucks, Handlebars, Mustache, EJS, Haml, Pug, TypeScript, JSX, MDX, Sass Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Zero-configuration setup with extensible configuration
  • Supports Markdown and many templating languages
  • Includes collections, data cascade, watch mode, and preview server
  • Built-in navigation, Pagefind search, SEO, and code highlighting
  • Supports Markdown, MDX, Markdoc, and internationalization
  • Works with React, Vue, Svelte, Solid, and Astro integrations
Cons
  • Requires Node.js for local development
  • CMS integration is guidance rather than a built-in CMS
  • Internationalization relies on guidance and plugin support
  • Documentation versioning uses the Starlight versions plugin
  • Projects are developed locally before deployment
  • Deployment depends on Astro-compatible hosting or rendering options
Our verdict

Eleventy is an open-source static site generator that transforms directories of templates into pre-rendered HTML. It supports Markdown plus HTML, WebC, JavaScript, Liquid, Nunjucks, Handlebars, Mustache, EJS, Haml, Pug, TypeScript, JSX,…

Read the review →

Astro Starlight is an open-source framework for building documentation websites with Astro. It is designed for developer and technical documentation teams that prefer a docs-as-code workflow. Content can be authored in Markdown, MDX, or…

Read the review →
  1. EleventyStatic Site Generators 8.7Free plan
  2. Astro StarlightStatic Site Generators 8.5Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Eleventy — where it wins

    • Zero-configuration setup with extensible configuration
    • Supports Markdown and many templating languages
    • Includes collections, data cascade, watch mode, and preview server

    Where it doesn't

    • Requires Node.js for local development
    • CMS integration is guidance rather than a built-in CMS
    • Internationalization relies on guidance and plugin support

  • Astro Starlight — where it wins

    • Built-in navigation, Pagefind search, SEO, and code highlighting
    • Supports Markdown, MDX, Markdoc, and internationalization
    • Works with React, Vue, Svelte, Solid, and Astro integrations

    Where it doesn't

    • Documentation versioning uses the Starlight versions plugin
    • Projects are developed locally before deployment
    • Deployment depends on Astro-compatible hosting or rendering options

More comparisons

All static site generators comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update